Vallejos, Houston square off in District 14

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Tommy Vallejos has been described during his first term as a Montgomery County commissioner as a “budget hawk,” for cutting unnecessary spending in county government, but his opponent in the District 14 race this summer, Sam Houston, thinks more should be done.

Vallejos

Vallejos says he’s had an opportunity during the past four years to learn and grow as a public servant, and he’s additionally participated in Leadership Clarksville-Montgomery County School System, Leadership Clarksville and Leadership Middle Tennessee, while listening to constituents and often helping them on an individual basis, he notes.

Currently, Vallejos is president of the Tennessee County Commission Association, an organization whose aim is to promote efficiency in county governments through their legislative bodies. “I represent all 95 counties before the Tennessee General Assembly. My main responsibility is to ensure that no unfunded mandates are passed on to the local body,” he said.

As county commissioner, Vallejos notes that he has never missed a County Commission meeting. “Additionally, I regularly attend the School Board meetings as a member of the School Liaison Committee. I have been selected to serve on the Budget Committee of the County Commission, a responsibility I take very seriously. I am determined to cut fiscal waste, and was singled out by The Leaf Chronicle last year as being the ‘budget hawk’ because of my efforts in cutting unnecessary spending,” Vallejos said.

With 400 to 600 soldiers exiting the military on a monthly basis, Vallejos says he has emphasized creating jobs and using the “skills and leadership that these trained individuals bring to the table.

“I have met with Cal Wray, the new Economic Development Council executive director, where I addressed my concerns regarding job growth in the Clarksville-Montgomery County area. I believe it is my obligation to do everything I can to help our job creation market move in a positive direction.

“Having retired from the U.S. Army after 21 years, I have not forgotten my roots or my comrades who gave so much. I constantly speak out on behalf of our military retirees and disabled vets. I was very vocal, and had talks with two United States senators and two United States representatives, regarding the one percent cut in COLA pay increases. As a direct result of my meetings with them, I obtained their full support for reinstatement of the COLA increase,” Vallejos said.

“I have earned the support of retirees and veterans across the entire state of Tennessee,” he said.

Houston

While he said he has no political experience, Houston believes one of his greatest assets is a “great deal of experience making good, well-thought-out decisions.

“My solid critical thinking skills along with my experience as a leader, manager and collaborator gained throughout my career in Special Forces gives me some of the skills needed to represent the people of District 14 as a servant leader,” Houston said.

“It is crucial that a servant leader be honest and up-front with those who entrust him or her in that position. Your ‘yes’ must be ‘yes’ and your ‘no’ must be ‘no.’ There is no place for personal agendas in the arena of representing people as a servant leader. The focus has to be on what is best for your district and your district alone, not on your personal agenda as seems to be the case in District 14.

“I will communicate with the people in District 14 through community meetings, news outlets, face-to-face, phone and social media. I will also solicit the opinions and feedback from the people of District 14, and I will actively listen to those people for their wisdom and wishes which is not taking place now,” Houston said.

“All of my adult life I have dealt with people, from high-ranking dignitaries to the everyday laborers; whether it was on a civil airfield, in the Army or in a classroom. I have learned how to work with or collaborate with people of all backgrounds, and I have witnessed the rewards and good that can come from it. This skill or attribute gives me the confidence that I can make a difference for my community and Clarksville-Montgomery County as a whole,” he said.

Houston claims that Vallejos has “sorely failed” to keep his promises. “He supported and voted to raise the taxes, and he would not listen to the constituents of District 14 on the matter. I and a number of constituents spoke with Mr. Vallejos in hopes that he would not vote for the tax increase,” Houston said.

Key topics

For Vallejos, a major issue in county government is making infrastructure match the needs of the growing population. “Our roads system must be revitalized. Though my district is in the city, the road system is split between the city and the state, and I continue to stay engaged. Therefore, it is my responsibility to have a good working relationship with not only the City Council members in my district, but the state delegation as well.

“Second,” Vallejos said, “we must continue to support job growth by working in partnership with the EDC and (Industrial Development Board) to bring new industry to our city. For example, we must grow our industrial park in a way that will attract more national companies to our area. We must be seen as a place where companies can grow.

“Third, we must keep an eye on public safety issues. We must be at the forefront of providing the necessary protection for our communities in the county and our most precious commodity, our children, through our (School Resource Officer) program. Though we have done a good job by meeting the needs of all of our high schools and middle schools, ensuring that they have SROs, our 23 elementary schools are not where they should be. I believe we need to continue to slowly grow the SRO program and have the school system pay for the initial costs for start-up,” Vallejos said.

“Finally, but certainly not the least, I am someone that believes we must find a way to work with what we have, and get out of the habit of thinking more is better. Yes, we are growing, and that is a good thing, but that does not mean that every year we can afford to blow up the budget. We must choose our priorities carefully, and sometimes, that may mean saying no,” Vallejos said.

Houston believes the county as a whole, and District 14, have many issues including what he calls a need for representation, as well as infrastructure.

“We are growing at such a great rate and seemingly ignoring our infrastructure. We must start controlling our growth smarter. I would happily work side-by-side with the city entities and the Regional Planning Commission to collaborate on a more-deliberate growth plan,” Houston said. “This should include compelling the state to improve and finish state roads to meet Clarksville-Montgomery County growth needs.

“We must properly fund all departments within the county government in order for them to be able to service our community properly. That being said, Montgomery County does not have a revenue problem, we have a stewardship problem. Montgomery County must live within its means, and this is not a request, it is a must. Most problems can be solved without throwing more taxpayer dollars at them. It may require a little work and planning, but taxpayer dollars is not always the answer,” Houston said.

“We must be smarter about where we place schools and how we build them. We must build schools that can receive additions to them, and we must place schools strategically to handle future growth, not just blindly place them as it seems has happened to date. The Oakland school situation comes to light and it seems no one in the County Commission had a clue as to what was going on, but they voted yes on the deal, except for one commissioner.

“I will not support tax increases, I will actively listen to the people of District 14 and I will exercise good stewardship with the entrusted position of county commissioner,” Houston said.

Jimmy Settle, 245-0247

Business editor

jimmysettle@theleafchronicle.com

Twitter: @settle_leaf

ELECTION 2014

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Part of a series of election issues reports, comparing the candidates’ stands. For more in the series, go to TheLeafChronicle/election.

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For video of the candidates discussing the issues, go to http://leafne.ws/1ofTUtt.